


Departing Sanity

by TheLoveableMoron



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Asylum, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Author is stressed, Bill Cipher Being Bill Cipher, Bill Cipher Deserved Better, Bill Cipher is Trying, Bill Cipher/Dipper Pines Fluff, Blood and Gore, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Dipper Pines Needs A Hug, Dipper is done with Bill's shit, Gravity Falls References, Hurt Dipper Pines, It's so fucking trippy, Kind of healthy Bill Cipher and Dipper Pines, M/M, Possessive Bill Cipher, Protective Bill Cipher, Protector! Bill Cipher, Protector! Will Cipher, Top Bill Cipher, Trippy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:26:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24434299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLoveableMoron/pseuds/TheLoveableMoron
Summary: Dipper was sent to an insane asylum for reasons that he cannot recall. All he knows is that there is this man who keeps following him who claims to know the truth of who Dipper is and where he came from. When Dipper tries to explain this mysterious man to the nurse's they say that no one is there with him and it's all just in his head.And that's something Dipper can't accept. And he'll do anything to prove them wrong.
Relationships: Bill Cipher/Dipper Pines
Comments: 4
Kudos: 54





	1. White Noise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The world is white. 
> 
> And all I hear is noise.

I slowly opened my eyes just a crack only to be blinded by a bright light from above me. I tried to cover it with my hands but when I tried to move them, they were restricted by some kind of force. I was lying down on a bed and I was being carried away to god knows where. I was barely awake and the world was a blur. I could see shadowy figures above me, pushing the bed forward and talking amongst each other. Their words sounded like complete gibberish to me. 

"W...Where am I?" I choked out. 

My voice was dry and hoarse. It didn't sound like mine, it was almost as if someone else was talking. One of the figures looked directly down at me. I couldn't see their facial features since my eyes hadn't adjusted to the light. But they didn't say anything. They just kept pushing me further. I tried to sit up but that same thing that restricted my arms was also restricting my chest. I looked down and I could barely make out some kind of leather strap weaving it's way all over my body, forcing me down against the bed. I thrashed about in a pathetic attempt to wriggle my limbs free. I groaned and grunted as the leather tightened against my skin. I yelled in pain but the figures kept ignoring me. 

_Where am I?  
_

_What was going on?  
_

_Why am I strapped to this bed?  
_

_Who am I?_

The thoughts raced through my head as I tried to find some kind of reasonable conclusion. I couldn't remember anything. I just wanted to leave this sick place. My headache was getting worse and worse. I was shoved into room after room, more and more bright lights blinding my vision and forcing my eyes shut until it finally stopped. The bed remained still. I slowly opened my eyes just a crack and adjusted them to the bright light. Wires were protruding from my arms and eight shadowy figures stood above me. I squinted at the figures, trying to comprehend any of their features that could make them recognisable in any way. All of the figures were wearing masks. One of them stepped forward. 

"Don't worry. This will all be over in a second." A voice cooed reaching a transparent mask directly towards my face. 

"What are you doing?!" I screamed, my voice going eight octaves higher than usual. I tried to push myself away from the figure but two pairs of hands forced my face back. 

"NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!" I screamed desperately. 

The mask was forced against my face and strapped tightly around my head. My screams were muffled by the mask and tears streamed down my face uncontrollably. Everything around me started to blur and made tongue numbed. My eyes felt heavy and all I wanted to do was go into a deep sleep. I could hear faint counting from one of the figures in the room, it was the one who forced the mask around my face. 

_10..._

_9..._

_8..._

I tried my best to stay awake. The figure's voice died down, fading away and distorting. The corners of my vision were going black.

_7..._

_6..._

Then everything went dark.

I could faintly hear voices. 

"Grunkle Stan! I think he's..." 

The voice drifted away and was replaced with a loud ringing in my ears. I slowly opened my eyes and I stared up at a girl who looked in her mid-thirties. She had long brown hair that hung down past her breasts. She was wearing a sweater with the words, 'You did it!' She had bright brown eyes that stared at me happily. I stared up at her in confusion, in a weak attempt to understand who she was and why she was here.

My brain swirled around in my skull, spinning with the world around me. The bed beneath me was uncomfortable, like solid rock. I don't even know how someone could call this a bed. My eyelids were heavy and I just wanted this stranger to go away. Suddenly another man appeared behind her. He was wearing a fez hat with a strange yellow symbol that reminded me of _'Pac Man'._ His face was all wrinkly. There were heavy bags under his eyes. And he wore a sharp black suit and black-framed glasses that hung on the edge of his big nose. 

"Kid, oh we're so glad that you're still okay." The old man said as he reached for my arm. 

I flinched automatically away from his hand only to smash it directly against the leather. I grunted in pain and glared at the two strangers. 

"What's wrong bro?" The girl asked as she reached towards my head. I thrashed every fibre of my being away from her and began screaming. Her hand retracted and her brow furrowed. Tears streamed down my face as I banged against the leather, causing red marks and small scars to form on my body. 

"GET AWAY FROM ME!!" I yelled out at the top of my lungs. 

Both of the figures stepped back and more people entered the room. Everything in my body screamed in pain as I kept fighting against the restraints.I could feel a warm liquid slowly sliding down my arm. My arms stung. I glanced down and saw blood. Thin red lines that ran down the length of my arm. The cuts seemed to come from the leather. It wasn't even that big of a cut but the fact that it drew blood sent shivers down my spine.

_I had to get out of here._

Two of the people who just entered grabbed the girl and the man and escorted them out. They were saying things to each other as they left but I could barely hear them. The pain was so loud. Everyone was so loud. Why won't they just shut up? **Why can't everyone just shut up already?!**

I felt a hand touch my head and I only thrashed about more, trying to escape from its grasp. 

"Calm down, it's alright. No one is going to hurt you." 

A voice said softly. I hesitantly stopped to get a look at who the voice came from. My eyes focused up at the figure standing tall above me. It was a lady. She was wearing a white uniform and she had blonde hair which was tied back into a ponytail. She stroked my head gently and it soothed me slightly. I relaxed into the bed and looked up at her with wide, curious eyes. 

She looked at me with a sad look on her face and she pulled out bandages from a white purse that hung around her hips. She reached for my arm tentatively. I squirmed away but she gave me a smile. I don't know why but the smile compelled me to relax and I let her touch my arm. She unwound the bandages and then wrapped them around the cuts on my arms. She muttered something under her breath and then giggled lightly. Her laugh made me slightly nervous but my mind was too hazy to understand what she had said. After she was done I glanced down at the bandages. I raised my head up to her. I attempted to smile but I think that I must've really messed it up since she only just laughed at me. Then I finally decided to ask her a question which had been ringing through my mind ever since I first woke up in this place.

"Can you t-tell me where I am?" I stuttered staring up into her electric blue eyes. 

"I'm sorry, I don't think I can tell you that yet. I'm only here to escort you back to your...room." She hesitated on her last word. 

She then disappeared behind me and began to push me forward. For some odd reason, I felt comfortable with her pushing me forward into the unknown. I felt slightly safe with her.

"What's your name?" I asked her, tipping my head back to get a good look of her face. 

"Northwest, Pacifica Northwest." She replied with a small smile.

My head throbbed and I closed my eyes. I drifted further and further away from reality, the distant voice of Pacifica drew me further into sleep. She was saying things like, 'Just rest little Pinetree,' and 'I'll be seeing you soon.' I drifted further into the darkness of sleep. The noise began to die down to the point where I couldn't hear anything but Pacifica slowly singing to me. 

_We'll meet again..._

_Don't know where..._

_Don't know when..._

_Oh, I know we'll meet again..._

_Some sunny day..._

The song was so beautiful. I swear I had heard it before...but I can't recall when. Pacifica's beautiful voice began to fade away. Her singing continued but she kept going softer and softer as time went on.

I finally felt peace.

When my mind finally drifted back out of sleep, I felt something soft underneath me. It's was much softer than the bed that I was strapped to earlier. Then I realised something, the leather was gone. I was free. I forced my eyes open and pushed myself up. My heart dropped. Pads. Pads on the walls all around me. There were two lights towards the front of the room, where a door frame stood, covered in the same white pad. I slowly stood up. Now sound emitted as I step across the padded floor. Tears stung my eyes. I stumbled towards the door hazily. My hand reached the door and I ran my hand along its frame. I tried pushing it. I strained and shoved and pulled but it wouldn't budge. I gritted my teeth. 

"LET ME OUT OF HERE!"

I screamed as I banged against the door. The pads made a soft squish sound yet they held their shape. Rage built up inside me. I had to make them listen to me. I had to try something. So I stepped back and charged my shoulder against the door. It remained in place, like a bouncer who was as tough as steel. I stepped back further and ran towards the wall as fast as I could. I slammed my body against the wall. **CRACK!** The pads pushed me back on the floor. My right shoulder erupted in flames and I groaned in pain. 

"Can someone...help me..." I mumbled. 

There was no response. 

No one out there could hear me. 

_Did anyone even care about me?_

The silence remained and grew painfully around me, like a tumour. I curled into a ball and let the tears flow. I whimpered quietly to myself. I was all alone. I wished I never did that. 

_Now that I think about it, it was a pretty stupid thing to do._

I forced my eyes shut and tried to go to sleep. But the ringing started in my ears again and it kept waking me up. The silence was unbearable. I just wanted it to end. I just wanted to hear someone's voice. I just wanted someone with me. Someone to tell me that I wasn't going crazy. Someone to prove to myself that I wasn't going insane.

But no one came. 

I gripped my shoulder tightly and wept against the soft pads that covered the floor. The only sounds I could hear was my own misery and suffering. I bet those people from earlier were laughing at me. Laughing at how weak I was. How I was just a worthless boy. I wanted to prove them wrong. But I was so pathetic that I never had a chance against them. Suddenly in the darkness, I heard a voice. 

"Well, well we finally meet, Pinetree." The voice purred.

I froze up. My blood ran cold. My heart raced. Adrenaline coursed through my veins. My mind spun. My shoulder ached. My chest constricted. My eyes widened. I wasn't surprised by the fact that someone was here.

But the fact that the voice from earlier wasn't Pacifica.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I wrote this a really long time ago and thought fuck it, let's post it here too. This actually only has two chapters so far, but I can explain why they are so short. It's the first chapter and you have to ease the readers into it. I'm actually considering making this completely separate from Gravity Falls since I have so much planned for this. I hope you love it and it's also posted on Wattpad. (Don't worry I have the same username over there too. Shouldn't be too hard to find.) Have a great day and I'll see you all in the next note!


	2. Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With no recollection of his name, he finally meets the man who sees all.

I raised my head to meet the voice. In the middle of the blank, padded room sat a man. He was sitting on the ground and he had a wide, crooked smile sprawled across his face. He stared menacingly with he side cocked to the side. His fringe was bright yellow and swept to the side and it spilt out from underneath the man's top hat. The colour was so bright that it was easy to tell that it'd been dyed. Short, obsidian stands of hair jutted out from the yellow and trailed its way around the strange man's head. He wore a black overcoat with a matching vest underneath and a yellow button-up shirt. A black-tie hung just under his collar. His hands were covered in elegant black gloves which looked so smooth. His skin was a tanned brown. Then my eyes slowly worked my way up to his face. There were three black dots beneath his eyes which were black pits with cat-like yellow eyes looking directly at mine. 

"Like what you see?" He asked loudly. 

I jumped back when I noticed his razor-sharp teeth. My heart accelerated which only made the other male smile even wider. 

"W-Who are you?!" I demanded, my voice cracking in fear. 

The man then stood up and hovered just above the ground. I stared at him in a terrifying mix of horror and curiosity. "Just a friend." He simply stated as the corners of his lips curled up into a smile. I backed myself against the wall and stared up at him. "I don't even know you," I replied, furrowing my brow.

"Oh, but I know you." He smirked as he twisted around and hung upside down in mid-air. "What the hell-," I mumbled, perplexed as to how he was doing it. Maybe there was a string that suspended him so high up, but I couldn't see one anywhere. "Name's Bill Cipher." He grinned. 

I hesitated before asking another question, "What are you?" 

He spun back around and drifted to the ground. He reached his hand out and tapped his head twice with a smile. I only stared at him in confusion. I had no idea what he was doing but he clearly wasn't going to give me a straight answer. 

"Can you at least tell me where I am then?" I huffed. "Your local Willowsdale asylum." He responded. "A-An asylum?!" I asked in disbelief. Cipher nodded, confirming the worst. "W-Why am I here?" I stumbled over my words. "You're a smart kid. I bet you can figure it out yourself." He said. 

That struck a chord with me. A very emotionally unstable cord.

I slowly stood up and glared directly into Cipher's cat-like eyes. "Listen here. You can't just show up out of nowhere and come floating around with your tophat and crazy eyes! And you can't just tell me I'm at a mental asylum and then not tell me why I'm even-," I yelped out in pain in the middle of my rant and gripped my shoulder tightly. "Oh?" It was all the other male said. 

I didn't have time to respond as my legs crumpled beneath me and I fell to the floor. The pain racked my body and crippled me back against the wall. I groaned and held back my tears. My eyes shot back up at the man in front of me. I was expecting to see that shit-eating grin on his face but it wasn't there. His face was creased with concern as he stared down at me. 

"You dislodged it out of its socket." He pointed out. "No fucking kidding," I growled at him. Suddenly he kneeled down beside me and got a firm grip of my shoulder. "What are you doing-," I started. 

"This will only hurt a bit." He informed. 

I opened my mouth to stop him but I was interrupted by a sheer force pushing back my right shoulder back into place. A scream erupted from my throat as I reached for my shoulder with my free hand to stop him. I heard a loud crunch echo throughout the room and then he released shoulder and stood up again. I rubbed circles into my shoulder. 

"That hurt dumbass!" I snapped at him. 

"I did warn you." 

My shoulder burned like the pits of hell but at least it was back in its socket. I guess I'd have to thank him for that. 

"Do you remember anything at all before you came here?" Cipher asked, immediately changing the subject in the process. I found it to be a rather unusual question, but might as well answer it. 

"I don't even remember my own name, let alone anything before waking up here," I replied. My voice was strained from the pain but it was starting to ease down a little. "Wait...nothing at all?" He asked his face going slightly pale. I nodded awkwardly. I had no clue what he was so surprised about. He then looked away and stared at the wall in deep thought. After that silence reigned through the 'prison cell'. Neither one of us uttered a word. I felt uncomfortable in the choking quiet so I finally spoke up. 

"Why are you here?" I asked as I licked my lips for an ounce of moisture but finding that it was dryer than the _Sahara Desert._

Cipher remained mute for a few moments then he spoke up, "I was assigned to you." 

"Why?" 

" _They_ told me that I had to look after you." 

"So you're a doctor." I raised my brow.

"Technically yes." He replied nonchalantly. 

"Why me?" I questioned again. 

"Your mind is in a weak state. It's exposed to dangers far greater than you can fathom." He explained. 

"Like you?" I jeered. 

"I said I'm a _friend_. _"_

I rolled my eyes and shuffled slightly away from him. "Who's _'they'?"_ I asked. "Friends of mine." He replied, the smile returning to his face. "As if you have friends." I quipped with a sly smile. "I do have friends!" Cipher hissed, his cheeks puffing red. "Really? Where are they then?" I questioned, keeping the smile on my face. Cipher fell quiet for a moment. 

"Only one of us can occupy your mind at a time and if I leave then something else could get in." He said. 

"You're just making excuses." I sighed. 

The silence slowly crept back again. I continued to rub numerous shapes into my shoulder to waste the time but time just seemed to get slower and slower. He just stood there. His gaze drifting off to elsewhere. I found what he was doing quite odd. I scratched the stubble under my chin as I watched him, waiting for him to say or do something that would make this just a little more interesting. He still stood there, for a lot longer than I expected him too. I began to grow bored so I started to play with the hem of my hospital gown. 

"Want to play a game Pinetree?" He asked completely out of the blue. 

"Why do you call me that?" I answered his question with another question. 

"Your hair is fuzzy and brown. Like a pine." He stated simply. "Pines aren't fuzzy," I replied. "Then you're as stubborn as those prickles that stick out from them then." He shot back. 

I let him have that one. Just to feed his little ego. 

"So what kind of game?" I inquired. "I think you'd know this one." He said. He opened his hand and there was nothing there. I stared at him curiously and my thoughts immediately concluded that he was insane. Then suddenly a bright blue spark appeared in the middle of his palm and then exploded in a flurry of flames. Once the flames died down there was somehow an entire chess set in his palm. He then flicked a few stray flames off the board and it was completely intact from the fire. 

"How did you-," I started but he quickly hushed me. 

"Black or white?" He smirked.

"White," I said. 

He opened the set and together we set up either side of our armies onto the board. Since I chose white I got to go first and I dared to make the shocking move of placing my pawn forward. Which made Cipher gasp in horror. After I made my move, he'd then make one, then it would be my turn again. We kept going like this for hours on end, moving one piece at a time. At one point I almost got a checkmate and won the entire game, but he caught onto what I was doing and quickly blocked me before I could. I still kept trying though. I thought as hard as I over my next move. Surely it would be fine. He'd be too stupid to take that risk anyway. I moved the piece to my planned position and met his eyes. There was a bright glint of light shining in his eyes and I realised my mistake. 

"CHECKMATE!" He yelled as he moved his piece and crossed his arms across his chest. 

He beamed directly at me with satisfaction. "Way to rub it in." I huffed. His smile only got wider as he flicked all of the white pieces off the board. "You were saying?" He asked with that goddamn grin again. 

"Do your friends always have to put up with all of this?" I asked. "They just like me that much." He shrugged as he closed the set and the blue flames returned again. But this time the board disappeared with the flames. 

"How are you doing that?" I demanded. 

"I used to be a magician." He said. 

"Oh," I mumbled. 

"I have to go now." He said, standing up. 

"Great I can finally get rid of you," I replied. 

"You know I'll come back right?" He asked. 

I decided to not respond after he said that. Maybe if I stayed quiet he'd go away faster. I was tired and my head was still reeling with how much of a narcissistic asshole he was. Plus he was so cryptic with his words and so strange that deep down, it intimidated the child-like part of me that still remained. 

"See ya Pinetree!" He waved. 

Suddenly blue flames erupted around him and then his vanished in thin air. I stared down at the spot where he was just standing before he left. There was no ash or charcoal lying anywhere on the ground. As if there hadn't been three fires in this room. I sighed and fell back onto the _'cushions'_ beneath me. I don't know why but a part of me found him rather charming. But I had to push that feeling deep down inside of me. I still have no idea who he actually was. Apparently he was a doctor and a magician. I found it hard to believe but it would explain all the magical happenings. 

My eyes slowly shut and darkness surrounded me. The pain in my shoulder was soothing but it still burned which made it uncomfortable to sleep. I rolled around on the padded floor, trying to find a comfortable position, but no matter how hard I tried it only caused my muscles to tear more. I eventually gave up and just laid on my back and stared at the ceiling. The pain in my shoulder was gnawing at me and trying to consume all my thoughts. I groaned and my hands pulled and tugged at my hair to create a distraction from it. _He was right about my hair being sticky though._

Just as I was about to sit up the pain stopped. I glanced down at my shoulder and it was still bright red. Yet I couldn't feel it. I couldn't feel my entire arm. I grabbed my limp right hand with my left and squeezed it desperately to try and get some reaction out of it. But none came. I could still feel everything else. Maybe my blood circulation was getting cut off. 

I then rolled onto my left and positioned my arm against my body. My eyes fell close again and I relaxed to the hum of my own breathing. Since the pain was gone, there was nothing stopping me from catching a break finally. 

My mind drifted away from the outside world and the asylum and it fell into the bliss that sleep brought my sleep-deprived body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That little chess scene was a little nod. If you understand what I mean. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this although it's rather...short. I have promised that the next chapter will be longer since I plan to add more elements in. Any and all feedback is welcome because I am still planning to change this eventually into an original story and I'm excited for any tips on how to advance it to be better than how it already is. If you want more content from me just pop over to Wattpad since I post there more often. (I don't post here too much because I want to put my better stories here.) I can't wait to hear any theories about why Dipper could be in an asylum and if Bill actually has any friends. 
> 
> We're all here to just have some good fun! :D


	3. Containment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The cell that he is contained in isn't the only thing new in his world.

The first thing I saw when I woke up was the white ceiling above. I squinted my eyes as they readjusted to the bright light. I swallowed my dry throat and carefully rolled onto my side. My body slowly drifted in and out of consciousness and I shook my head to try and stay awake. A tingling sensation started to crawl it's way up my arm. I bit my lip and ignored it. But it was only increasing in size and pain. Finally, my brain was able to register what was going on and I quickly sat up, groaning in pain. I looked down at my right arm. My shoulder was bruised and swollen yet I was left confused. I had no heat to ease the swelling last night... _yet I somehow got to sleep._

"I'm too tired for this shit." I sighed, not dwelling on the thought any longer. 

I don't know how long I had been asleep for though, but clearly, it wasn't long enough. I rubbed the back of my neck, where an aching sensation was flaring up. I looked around the same white padded room, half expecting to see that man show up again. But I was the only one there. I looked back at the pads that made up the floor; it was tempting to fall back asleep. My eyes were so heavy and almost every inch of my body complained about some kind of problem. But what if he came back while I was sleeping? And then I would completely miss my chance to get a better idea of why I'm stuck in this cell in the first place. Not that I wanted to see that asshole, but it was better than nothing. 

**Click!**

I looked up and turned towards where the sound had come from. The door, on the other side of the room, gradually creaked open. There was a figure of a man standing in the doorway. I stared curiously at them for a moment. Then the figure reached behind and pulled out a baton. He waved it in my direction and pointed to the door. 

"Go on. Get out." The gruff voice huffed. 

I hesitantly got up on my feet and shuffled towards the door. I glanced down wearily at the baton and kept on moving through. I stopped outside the door and stepped a little to the right so that the other man could get back out. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain pierce my back. Which was then followed by an electric sensation that ravaged throughout my body to the tips of my fingers. "Argh!" I yelped in pain yet the man didn't seem to care. "Keep moving right." He growled. I obediently began to walk right, even though my senses were all over the place. I continued down the hallway a feeling of dread and anxiety rising through me. I could almost feel the weapon against my back from how close he was following behind me. My heart was beating so fast that at any minute it would burst out of my chest, or that I'd pop a blood vessel. I looked at the barren doors sticking out of the blinding white walls. Each door had dozens of locks that were sealed up tightly. Looking over the doors I realised that not a single one had a window; I realised that all I'll ever see in my life is artificial sunlight, and all I'll ever feel is the ice-cold floors. 

As we came up to a fork in the road, I timidly glanced back over my shoulder to the man for guidance. He tilted his head to the left so I went that way. Off in the distance, I could hear murmurs of people talking. I could barely pick up any of the conversations they had but as I went further through the voices got louder and louder. Dread flared up in my stomach as we approached a door, where on the other side the voices could be heard. When we reached the door, the man behind me outstretched his finger and pushed the button. On the other side, there was a massive room, with hundreds of tables, with even more people crammed into it. Each person had a tray of food which sat on the table in front of them. Well if someone could even call it food since it looked like a bleak mush of sloop. I could feel all their eyes staring directly at me. The talking quietened down to a mere whisper here or there. I couldn't read the expressions on their faces, since there were so many of them, but from the sudden silence that practically filled the entire room, I knew it was a red flag. 

Then instantaneously I was pushed forward into the room. I heard the man behind me grumble something under his breath and I gazed back only to be met with a sterilised door. 

I took a deep breath and looked around the room. Most of the tables were already taken, and each one I'd glance over had pretty much the entire table staring right through my soul. Tentatively I walked forward, inching past the tables carefully. I scanned for an empty table. Unfortunately, I couldn't see any. The closest to 'empty' they had was a table in the right corner of the room, with one male sitting alone. I know he probably wanted to remain alone for however long we were in here, but I didn't exactly have much of a choice. I paced over to the table and sat down opposite the man. All around me I could hear the chatter of the room increase as most of them resumed to their usual conversation. The table was covered in an array of scratchings and graffiti in some kind of cypher. I squinted my eyes to get a better look at it, but the only shape that I could recognise was a triangle. 

"You forgot to get a tray," The man said. 

The man opposite me had shaggy, pale grey-blonde hair that went down the nape of his neck. The man had one electric blue eye; his hair covered his left eye. He looked slightly younger than me, just by a few years. Freckles were scattered across his pale cheeks like little stars, and he wore the same hospital gown as me. I noticed he was a lot more malnourished than me, to the point where I could see the outlines of his bones along his skin. His skin was light it had been tightened and stretched out around him, just barely enough to cover him entirely. 

"I...uh...I'm not hungry," I replied quietly, a lot quieter than I had intended it to come out. 

"You can have mine." The man offered, pushing the tray towards my side of the table. I looked down at the slop in the bowl then back at the man. "No, it's yours. You shouldn't just give away food that's yours to a stranger." I said. "Y-You'll starve. We hardly get meals here." The man fretted. "Won't you starve too?" I asked. 

The man shook his head and looked at the table with a slight smile, "I-I haven't eaten for centuries." 

"How are you able to even live without eating anything?" I burst out. The other man remained quiet, smiling away with his head down at the table. "You're like that Bill guy aren't you?" I questioned. "Oh. You've met my brother?" He asked, perking up in his seat. I sighed and nodded, "He's a pain in the ass." "That's quite a strong phrase...but you aren't wrong." 

I glanced around at the other inmates and caught a few staring directly at me. "I swear I'm going insane," I muttered under my breath. "Sanity is a trivial pursuit of your kind. It always has been. Why stay in the boundaries of reality when fantasy is endless?" The man lamented quietly. 

I thought for a minute about what he said; it didn't quite make any sense but then again does anything make sense anymore?

"What's your name?" I asked, changing the subject. "I assume you've already concluded my last name is Cipher, since you've met Bill, but my name is William." The man answered.

"I'm also assuming that you're a wizard too?" I gibed. "Well, I'm a just patient here but I do have a talent," Will responded, his eyes fluttering down in embarrassment. "Can you show me it?" "Just keep an eye on that," Will muttered as he looked down at the glass on the table. My eyes followed his gaze onto the transparent object. It was still filled to the brim and completely untouched. I waited for a few moments as I stared at it, but nothing was happening. I glanced up at Will expectedly waiting for him to do something. "Well?" I asked when he met my gaze. "Look around now." He whispered. 

I pulled away from his eyes and scanned across the room. I noticed nothing at first then my heart dropped when I saw what had happened to the people. There was no flesh on their skin (some had rotting flesh dangling down from their limbs like fat) and it was just yellowing bone. Where their eyes had once been now empty sockets that stretched further out the more I looked into them. Their teeth were blackened with decay from lack of hygiene and care. I scratched the itching sensation in my left forearm without taking my eyes away from them. Some of the heads turned in my direction, rattling their bones. I quickly looked down from the pits boring into my skull. Under my nail, I caught sight of a small piece of flesh. Then I saw a tiny little hole in my arm. Curiously I dug into the hole and my flesh peeled back like a heavy quilt atop a mattress, revealing mass amounts of blood pooling from the wound. 

I quickly jumped up screaming, "I-I NEED A DOCTOR!" 

William remained calm on the other hand, simply standing up and placing a hand on my shoulder. "Just relax." He beamed. "Relax?! How am I supposed to relax with this?!" I yelled out, my heart racing a million miles an hour. "Because it isn't real. Look around you again." William stated softly. Tears stung my eyes and in the blurry mess, I examined my surroundings. I blinked a few times in confusion at what I was looking at. The people had returned to normal; their flesh was back upon their skin. The black holes now had eyes in them, and I felt my heartbeat ease when the massive gash in my arm had faded away with whatever the hell I just witnessed. 

"W-What the hell just happened?" I whispered to Will who was still smiling away. "Did you realise how you never felt the pain of your flesh being ripped off?" He asked, not answering the question. I nodded slowly, "And?" "That was an optical illusion. It's a little party trick I specialise in." He replied. 

I went quiet to process what I had just witnessed. "But you didn't have to scare the shit out of me-," I began but I was quickly cut short. 

"Oh, you have to go. I'll see you around!" Will chirped, unphased by the terror he had just caused. "Wait where are you going?" I questioned. Suddenly I felt a light tap on my shoulder and I violently flinched. 

"Come with me." 

I sighed in relief when I spun around to be greeted by Pacifica. Although she brows were furrowed in a mix of concern, fear and annoyance. I nodded in response and she quickly turned on her heels and began to walk out a different door opposite to the one I had entered the lunchroom in. I glanced back over my shoulder to say goodbye to Will but he was gone. 

After we left the cafeteria I scanned every hall and open door for any of the guards, just in case that one with the baton came back. Even though Pacifica led me down several mind-numbingly white corridors there were only a few men in surgical masks and gloves looking at something in a microscope. Eventually, we reached a door with a little sign above it. The symbol painted on it was a red cross. I swallowed nervously and followed her inside the room. The interior was just as white as the halls, there was hardly any colour in this hell. Only one black chair stood out towards the corner of the room (as an oddball among the rest). There were tall cabinets and a desk with a computer atop, which I presumed was her's. 

"Sit down." She said, gesturing towards a bed. 

I shuffled towards the bed and sat down compliant. She took a seat the white chair beside her desk, one which had little wheels that rotated around. She then grabbed a clipboard and pen, faced her body towards me and began, "So what kind of check-up do you need me for?" I connected my bony fingers and ran my hands along the edge of my knuckles. My heart jumped in rate and I nervously looked down at the floor, unsure of what to say. After around 30 seconds of waiting, she continued, "Honey listen, you called for me and I can't help you if I don't know what the issue is. I know we barely know each other but you can trust me. I'm here to help you get out of this place, not keep you in it." 

"T-Then why not just let me leave?" I spoke under my breath. "What was that?" She asked, tilting her head slightly. "If you want to help me then just let me leave," I repeated, a lot more forceful than I had intended it to sound. She seemed stunned for a moment before replying, "I can't. You're here because you are a danger to society and it's against the rules for you to leave this early in rehabilitation." "How am I dangerous? I don't even know my own name!" I exclaimed. "What was the issue in the cafeteria, sir?" She asked, ignoring my previous statement. 

"I just...I think I broke my right shoulder." I lied. 

"Let me see." She said, moving her chair around to my right. She pulled the sleeve of my gown down and pressed her hand gently along the wound. "Oh, it's swollen alright...but that's odd." She muttered under her breath. "What's odd?" I questioned. "It should be disfigured if it's broken, but there seems to be none of that." She stated. "Well...I did push it back into place." I answered. 

"You couldn't have done that by yourself. I'll have to run some Xrays and get some blood samples. Can you tell me how bad the pain is?" She asked. "Like a five, I guess." I shrugged. "If it was a five you wouldn't be in here." Pacifica countered quickly. I could see the electric blue gaze boring through my soul, or possibly trying to read my mind (if girls could even do that). "Well...uhh...before it was worse." I defended. 

Pacifica wrote something down on her notes and then nodded to herself before looking back at me. "I'll prescribe some painkillers with your daily meals, and we'll do some blood tests now just to get it over with. The x-ray will take some time to arrange due to all the timing and financial complications involved." She confirmed. 

"Sounds okay," I mumbled flatly. 

I wasn't exactly enthusiastic about all of these measures that are supposed to help me, but at least the dull pains in my shoulder will hopefully go away. I watched as Pacifica got up and opened one of the cabinets and took the tape, a cotton ball and a syringe out. She put the tape and cotton on the bed then went to my left side. "I'm going to inject this in your upper arm and take some blood." She explained. "Will it hurt?" I worried. "Only a bit." She warned, her eyes softening. After that, I felt a sharp prick in my arm. I clenched my teeth in pain and waited ten seconds for it to finally fade away. She walked back over to her desk and inserted the red liquid into a small container. "All done!" She cheered. "Uhh thanks," I said, smiling weakly. 

"If that's all I can escort you back to your cell." She added. "Wait. I...want to ask you something before I do." I interrupted. "Hm?" She hummed, her blue eyes bright with curiosity. "A doctor visited me yesterday, Doctor Cipher. I was just wondering if you've met him?" I asked. "I haven't heard of him but I can search for him through the system." She offered. "I'd like that." I nodded as she sat down at her computer and began typing away. 

After a minute she turned back to me, "There's no doctor with the surname Cipher here." "What do you mean?" I questioned. "No one who works here has the last name Cipher." She said, her expression grim. "What about the patient I met in the cafeteria? I think his name was... William Cipher." I said. She spun back to the computer and continued to search. After thirty seconds she looked back and shook her head at me. "Neither of them exist." She said, her brow saddening. "But I saw I was just speaking to Will twenty minutes ago! And that doctor was literally in my cell! I swear they are real. Maybe you missed something!" I burst out in disbelief. 

Pacifica sighed and replied softly, "Trust me, I have double-checked and there is no one registered in the system with those names. If they were here, they would be in it." 

I bit my lip to the point of drawing small bits of blood in deep thought. "You're probably suffering from some kind of delusion. Delusions are usually a symptom of fatigue." Pacifica pointed out. I didn't say anything. She probably wouldn't have believed me anyway. But they were real. How could they not be real? Then again, it didn't help that they weren't even in the files. "I'll also add prescriptions to help with those delusions. Now is that all sir?" Pacifica asked, looking over her clipboard at me. "Yes...that's all," I muttered, standing up. She gestured for me to follow her and I obliged. On the way back through the bleak halls, I couldn't stop thinking about the Ciphers. And how strange it was that the systems turned up empty. I decided that I would talk about it with Bill...when we meet again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha sorry, this took so long but I had a massive break from writing. But I'm back baby! Hopefully, you enjoyed this and can't wait to see you in the next one!!


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